Ghana star knows more than sibling pride is at stake when the strikers clash in the six-pointer at London Stadium on Saturday
ANDRE AYEW is well aware West Ham’s showdown with Swansea today is massive.
Yet the Ghana star believes his whole family will be against him at the London Stadium.
Because the Hammers frontman, 27, lines up against little brother Jordan in the relegation scrap.
West Ham are in grim form after losing five games in a row.
But Andre reckons 25-year-old Jordan — who moved from Aston Villa in January — will get more backing because Swansea are in even deeper trouble.
He said: “Because of the situation, the family will be behind Swansea more than West Ham.
“I have played against Jordan a few times at Villa and at Marseille.
“But there has never been a big rivalry between us. It is always nice.
“Also when we play together with the national team I am happy to be on the pitch with him.
“We are very close. We try to help each other, to see what we can do better. We work together, do everything together and talk about everything.”
The ‘R’ word must surely have come up in their chats, then, with Slaven Bilic’s side in freefall and Swansea slipping back into the bottom three.
Ayew became West Ham’s club-record buy when he joined from Swansea for £20.5million last summer.
But he picked up a thigh injury on his debut and was out for 2½ months.
His first Hammers goal came in that 4-1 win against his former club at the Liberty on Boxing Day. But the African believes he got back to full fitness only after returning from the African Nations Cup in January.
He said: “I went back to Swansea when West Ham played there and it was strange — I nearly went into the home dressing room.
“I was happy to see the fans. It is a club I really enjoyed.
“For sure, I want them to stay up. They struggled at the beginning of the season but look at them since Paul Clement arrived as manager. You can sense something new is coming.
“After I joined West Ham, I was injured for a long time and then I went to the African Nations Cup. So, my season only started properly there.
“A lot of people underestimated the injury, which was a very difficult one.
“I had to take a decision whether to have an operation or not. There was a lot of hard work and when I came back I still had pain. But I played through it and I never complained.
“When the criticism came I stayed calm because I knew I was not 100 per cent. But I had to go through that to get back. It is the worst I’ve had in my career but it made me stronger, tougher.”
Even though he never played for the club at Upton Park, Ayew believes Hammers are still getting used to playing at the London 2012 stadium.
He said: “It is a big, big stadium full of our fans. Everyone is getting used to it bit by bit but everything takes time. You can’t just come in and get used to it straight away.
“A lot of the guys who’ve been here for years were used to Upton Park and suddenly, it changed.
“The results are not yet there at home and you need results to make things improve. I’m sure next season will be different and in two or three years it will really feel like home.”
The Ayews father Abedi Pele skippered Ghana and is rated one of the greatest African players of all time.
And Andre’s three goals in his last six games have been a rare bright spot as the pressure piles up on beleaguered boss Bilic.
Ayew said: “He is the manager who got a lot of great results last season but we have not been consistent enough to expect something like last season.
“We have a great manager, the players like him and want to do well for him and the club.”
Andre Ayew was speaking on behalf of Betway — official principal sponsor of West Ham United. The leading online bookmaker is paying out each-way bets to an extended SIX places on the Grand National.